Landmark Group was founded in 1973 with a single store in Bahrain and has now grown into one of the largest retail conglomerates in the Middle East and is expanding rapidly in India. It currently operates over 750 stores. In addition to its retail sector, the Group has also diversified into leisure, food, hotels and electronics and has created a comprehensive infrastructure including its own logistics and distribution division, to support its retail operations and other businesses. The group has a turnover in excess of US$2.5bn and it has over 10 million sq ft of retail space all over world. The group has presence across 10 countries: Bahrain, India, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, UAE, Pakistan and Egypt. (Landmark Website, 2009)
The Group, as of December 2008, had presence across the retail categories of:
- Fashion, clothing and garments.
- Kids wear, toys and baby needs.
- Home furniture and furnishings.
- Cosmetics, accessories and lifestyle products.
- Footwear, leather and accessories.
- Electronics.
- Hospitality covering food, entertainment and hotels.
Values (Landmark Website, 2009)
- Passion for excellence
- Integrity in everything we do
- Empowering people to strive and deliver
- Adapting to changing market and customer needs
- Large and diversified retail formats with anchor stores in major shopping malls
- Core businesses developed successfully in-house
- Ability to handle diverse products and market segments
- Financial strength and efficient supply chain management
- Decentralized decision making teams with hands-on management capability
- Competitive global sourcing capabilities
- State-of-the –art IT systems and solutions with logical infrastructure
- Cost efficient operations and productive use of resources
- Strong focus on customer development & retention through a successful loyalty process across Middle East & India
- Investment in research & development enabling constant innovation
- Continuous investment in human resource development and training
- Multi-national, multi-cultural work force with professional skills
- Largest importer of non-food goods in the Middle East handling over 40,000 containers per annum
- Consistent CAGR of 35% over the past 3 years
Landmark is operating in 12 retail concepts these store concepts are as follows:
Splash
Splash is high street fashion retail brand which has a network of over 84 Splash stores throughout the Middle East and the sub-continent. The label’s retail philosophy is to bring its style-conscious customers the very latest fashion stories as they unfold throughout the year; but without losing its core focus of delivering fashion at affordable prices. Today, it is well recognized as a home-grown regional fashion retailer that walks in step with global trends and latest fashion.
Splash currently offers a wide range of brands like Ms, Nexus, Zync, Scarlet, Friday- Kinyobi and Retro as well as international brands such as Lee Cooper, Bossini, Kappa, Maui & Sons and Yishion. (Landmark Website, 2009)
Babyshop
Babyshop, was established in 1973, in Bahrain. A unique concept store, that caters to the formative years of a child, from 0 to 16, and the needs of a mother. Babyshop’s product range is divided into 4 distinct departments: baby basics, clothing, toys and nursery furniture. Babyshop has over 85 stores in 10 countries with an average store size of 15,000 Sq ft. (Landmark Website, 2009)
Shoe Mart
Shoe Mart is one of the largest footwear retail chains in GCC region, comprising 97 stores across 8 countries. Shoe Mart offers range of footwear from value-for-money shoes to leading international brands like Puma, Bata (Italy), Barbie, Clarks, Ecco, Filanto, Hush Puppies, Imac, Lee Cooper, and Reebok. One can also find accessories such as belts, jewellery cases, handbags, luggage bags, purses, school bags, and an array of shoe care products, socks, suitcases and wallets, Shoe Mart store. (Landmark Website, 2009)
Lifestyle is another retail concept of landmark group; it offers a wide variety of home décor, home furnishing & bath decor to home fragrance, make-up, perfumes, fashion accessories, fashion bags, spa products and teen gifts. Lifestyle has more than 70 stores across GCC and Jordan. (Landmark Website, 2009)
Beautybay, a latest venture of Landmark Retail offers one stop shopping for value and luxury fragrances, cosmetics, skincare, hair care, bath and body care and beauty accessories. Beautybay exclusively carries several beauty and skincare brands including A’Kin, The Balm, Diego Dalla Palma, Elite, Erborian, Fresh Minerals, REN, Rouge Bunny Rouge, and VMV Hypoallergenics. With an extensive portfolio of market leading favorites such as Armani, Boss, CK, Dior, D&G, Givenchy, Gucci, and YSL to name but a few, Beautybay also offers complimentary make over’s and skin consultations in exclusively designed beauty and treatment rooms(Landmark Website, 2009).
Max
Max is a value retail store for the family which was launched in UAE. Max stores offers its own label clothing for men, women and children as well as footwear and home ware. However in India, Max also offers merchandise of certain other brands like Lee Cooper. Till date Max has 85 stores across 9 countries. The average size of each store is between 25000 – 30,000 sq. ft. (Landmark Website, 2009)
Home Centre
Home Centre is a furniture and home ware retailer having 60 stores across GCC, Jordan and India, with an average store size between 30,000 sq ft to 1,00,000 sq ft. (Landmark Website, 2009)
Q Home Décor
Q Home Décor is a new foray of landmark group, the stores offers up market range in house wares, furniture and home accessories.
Emax
Emax is an electronics retail chain which retails over 1,00,000 products and more than 300 brands in 17 product categories. Till date Emax has a tally of 15 stores with size varying between 35,000 to 1,35,000 sq ft. (Landmark Website, 2009)
Al Tayer Group
Al Tayer Group is a diversified regional business established in 1979 with its headquarters in Dubai, UAE. The Group operates in 12 countries in the Middle-East and beyond, with over 6500 employees. Its interests span multiple sectors, including automotive, contracting, distribution, publishing, retail, and services (Al Tayer Website, 2009)
In fashion retail, Al Tayer Group represents major brands such as Harvey Nichols, Armani, Gucci, Emilio Pucci, Bvlgari, and Boucheron. In addition, the Group has created and built a network of dedicated home-grown retail chains in fashion, jewellery and watches, perfumes and cosmetics, as well as interiors and furnishings. Complementing its position in luxury retail, the Group's portfolio also includes leading lifestyle brands such as Gap and Banana Republic.
One of its companies, Al Tayer Insignia, is the largest luxury retailer in the Middle East, representing over 30 of the world's luxury brands and operating 64 stores in the region. Al Tayer Insignia is also responsible for opening and operating the largest Harvey Nichols store outside the United Kingdom, at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai.
Fashion Retail
Al Tayer group’s portfolio includes many of world’s leading luxury brands. Few of these brands are:
Armani Exchange
Launched in 1991 in the U.S., AX Armani Exchange caters to a new generation of fashion consumers by offering individual style through an accessible collection for men and women. Al Tayer Group, the sole franchisee for the brand in the UAE, opened the first AX store in Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall in October 2006. The popularity of this urban/street lifestyle brand led to the opening of the second store in the city in Al Wahda Mall in May 2007, followed by Deira City Center of Dubai in October 2007. Al Tayer group is also the sole franchisee for Armani jeans, Armani junior, Emporio Armani and Georgio Armani in UAE.
Asprey
Founded in 1781, Asprey created a worldly synthesis of luxuries, informed by an incredibly rich variety of influences and resources. Asprey assembled the best the world had to offer in materials, style and craftsmanship and made them its own. The Dubai store retails a complete range of Asprey products including jewellery, watches and pens, leather goods, silk, silver, crystal and china. Al Tayer Group is the sole franchisee for Asprey in the UAE.
Balenciaga
Once hailed as ‘the Master of us all’ by Christian Dior, the legendary Basque-Spanish fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga has played a pivotal role in shaping modern fashion for over 75 years. Known for his bubble-shaped silhouettes, tailored suits and voluminous coats, Balenciaga has inspired a host of designers the world over, and his influences can still be seen on catwalks today. Al Tayer Group, the sole franchisee for Balenciaga in the UAE, opened the first Balenciaga store at the Boulevard at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai.
Banana Republic
Banana Republic was founded in 1978 as a safari and travel store in California. Acquired by Gap Inc. in 1983 there are now more than 430 Banana Republic stores around the world. Banana Republic opened the first of 10 stores planned for the Middle East, in Bahrain’s Seef Mall in March 2007, following a franchise agreement between Al Tayer Group and Gap Inc.
Bottega Veneta
Bottega Veneta is one of the world’s leading Italian fashion designers and purveyor of high quality leather goods including handbags, belts, wallets and shoes. Launched in Italy in 1966 the brand is unmistakable in quality and design with a signature Intrecciato leather weave. Bottega Veneta’s exclusive leather goods have a made-by-hand quality which offers the guarantee to last a lifetime. Al Tayer Group, the sole franchisee for Bottega Veneta in the UAE, opened the first store in the Boulevard at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in February 2003.
Boucheron
French jewellery house Boucheron made its UAE debut through Al Tayer Group, its sole franchisee in the UAE with an exclusive boutique located at the Mall of Emirates in Dubai. Boucheron is an addition to Al Tayer Group’s ever-expanding portfolio of luxury jewellery and watch brands. The brand was established in the 1800’s with the vision to create ‘living’ jewellery that was both innovative and sensual. For over 150 years, Boucheron has been designing precious jewellery and watches for the world’s most elite clientele.
Bvlgari
Founded during the end of the 19th century by Sotirio Bulgari, a descendant of a family of Greek silversmiths, Bvlgari today has become an international success story, captivating the attention of celebrities, royals and the international jet set. Bvlgari made its debut in the Middle East in 1992, opening its first store in the heart of the city of Dubai on Al Maktoum Street. Today Al Tayer Group is the exclusive franchise in the UAE, Bahrain and Lebanon, with five dedicated stores in the UAE, including its flagship store at the prestigious Emirates Towers Boulevard, one in Achrafieh, Beirut, and one in Al A’ali Mall, Bahrain.
Dolce & Gabbana
Launched in Milan in 1985 by designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Dolce & Gabbana has emerged as a leading luxury brand at the forefront of cutting edge fashion and lifestyle, defining a new generation of Italian fashion.
Al Tayer Group opened the first stand alone Dolce & Gabbana boutique in 1999. Now, located in Mall of the Emirates since March 2006 it retails the complete collection of ready-to-wear for Women and Men, eyewear, leather goods and accessories.
Bin Hendi Group
Bin Hendi is a Dubai-based conglomerate – which is perhaps best known for its luxury fashion retail shops. The group has brought more than 75 world-renowned brands to the UAE in the fields of fashion, watches, jewellery, accessories, furniture, fine dining and more (Al Tayer Website, 2009). The business portfolio of group is as follows:
Mission
To provide the community we live in with the finest in products and services (Al Tayer Website, 2009).
Vision
To stay a step ahead in our field from the perspective of Employees, Customers and Competitors (Al Tayer Website, 2009).
Values
- Accountability & Responsibility
- Team work
- Innovation
- Diversity
- Respectful & Open Communication
- Integrity
- Embrace Change
- Leadership & Excellence
Fashion Retail
Following are the brands which are owned by the group in UAE:
- Artioli
- Baldessarini
- Brioni
- Calvin Klein
- GF Ferre
- Gianvito Rossi
- Hugo Boss
- Joseph
- Paul & Shark
- Shanghai Tang
- Zilli
The Sharaf Group
The Sharaf Group is one of the Business Houses in the U.A.E encompassing businesses in diverse fields which was established in 1976 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, by two enterprising brothers of U.A.E origin. The first business that The Sharaf Group ventured into was shipping and other related activities. The Group built an infrastructure to launch and diversify into other businesses like Retail Fashion, Retail Electronics, Cargo, Logistics, Financial Services, Real Estate, Warehousing and Logistics and Travel and Tourism to name a few (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
Mission
To provide the products and services that our customers need at:
- Right place
- Right time
- Right price with care & exceed expectations of all stakeholders - customers, partners, principals, vendors and employees. (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
VIsion
- To be the leader in Shipping, Fashion retail, Electronics, Retail, Logistics, Information technology and Travel and Tourism business.
- Provide automated solutions to the customer’s transport, travel and retail logistics needs.
- Invest in dedicated and responsible Human resources to create a superior and highly productive environment for the benefit of principles, partners, customers and employees (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
Values
- Deliver on promises
- Honour commitments
- Maintain full honesty, integrity and transparency in all business dealings
- Employ the best resources for value addition in the future
- Develop our core shipping, real estate, retail, travel and IT business
Sharaf Apparel Retail Brands:
B-Bush
B-Bushh is a brand of fashionable products for kids and teens that have the young adult's spirit in mind and smart look. The brand characteristics are fashionable, sport & street, and trendy. The designs vary from stylish to casual modern(Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
Bayti
A boutique store, retailing fashion home accessories and gifting alternatives, bayti offers a wide range of carefully selected decorative products to suit your mood, personality and lifestyle. Bayti offers a unique shopping experience and an opportunity for our customers to indulge themselves with a variety of product offerings ranging from scented candles, pot pourri, flowers, glass vases, cushion covers sourced from across the globe (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
Forever 21
Forever21 is a concept that appeals to the fashion-conscious woman. The brand specializes in the latest fashions for teenagers and young adults and anyone who feels 21 forever. The key strategy of the brand is to be always changing, to be in style forever. Every week there is something new and different at the Forever21 store, in fact items don't appear twice. Forever21 isn't only for 21-year olds, it is a destination for all stylish women. The brand offers a weekly stream of new selections in clothes, lingerie, bags and make-up and is sure to satisfy the 'Fashion Forward' needs of women. The first Forever21 store was opened in 1984 in Los Angeles high street. In less than two decades. Forever21 is one of the fastest growing retailers in North America with over 161 stores in the US and Canada. The stores, across the board, are spacious with a feminine and charming atmosphere that gives the customer an immediate sense of comfort. The design and concept the store is as sensational as the basic appeal, allowing Forever21 to house a larger selection of products. Unlike other women's retail stores Forever21 stands out with a stylish environment to match its range of trendy products, maintaining a consistent and tasteful shopping experience every step of the way (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
Red Earth
Red Earth provides today's women with the simplest way to the latest look. As one of the world's fastest-growing colour cosmetic brands, red earth offers the widest range of colours in the marketplace with unparalleled personalized advice, helping women choose the right hues to express themselves with ultimate confidence. Red Earth operates over 600 stores with a presence in high streets in some of the world's major cities including London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Toronto, Dubai and Auckland (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
RESET
RESET is much more than simply a brand name, it is an idea. It is a concept. A very individual way of understanding the fashion trade. It's an entire world defined by the following characteristics: RESET's products are divided into two collections: plain fabrics and knitwear. Each one of these is further divided in 3 styles: casual-wear, formal and sportswear. In this way RESET offers kids a wide variety of garments that correspond to different ways of understanding fashion and its needs
Thyme Maternity
Thyme Maternity is a Fashion, image driven store for the expectant mom, evolving from the traditional "maternity wear" store of the past. Brand offer trendy, stylish, young fashions of today with maternity features. This allows customer to maintain her individuality right through her pregnancy, never having to compromise her sense of style. Thyme caught the fashion world's attention with something new and completely different-something that would reflect the wants and needs of today mother-to-be. The company gave birth to a break through concept: fashionable maternity wear... the perfect mix of comfort and fit with the style and look of today's leading ready-to-wear fashions. In other words, comfortable, value priced clothing that accentuates her femininity during this magical time in her life and helps her feel everything that she is and more: Vibrant...joyous and alive (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
Sanrio
Sanrio is a world-wide designer and distributor of character-branded stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories. Sanrio perhaps is best known for Hello Kitty®, a star character and corporate symbol. Hello Kitty, however, is only one of many Sanrio characters and designs that bring the Sanrio merchandise line to life. Others include Pochacco®, our athletic young pup, and the slightly naughty Badtz-Maru®. Sanrio was founded in 1960 by Mr. Shintaro Tsuji. Mr. Tsuji created a line of character merchandise designed around gift-giving occasions. Forty years later, Mr. Tsuji is the Chairman of Sanrio Company, Ltd., based in Tokyo and with distribution throughout Japan and Southeast Asia, the Americas and Europe (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
Truworths
Truworths is a leading fashion retailer operating through two hundred and fifty seven stores in South Africa and fourteen franchise operations in Africa and the Middle East. The Truworths business model is driven by a philosophy that has been developed and refined over many years in pursuit of a unique approach to achieve growth in the complex and fast moving retail fashion environment (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
Westwood
Westwood is a specialist fashion retailer offering ranges for ladies, men, Kids, and home. The Westwood multi brand collection offers styles and ranges for all lifestyles. The range of clothing for ladies focuses on the young contemporary and contemporary lifestyles. The pricing across the entire fashion range encompasses value backed up by superb quality (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
Woolworths
Woolworths offers a one-stop family shopping experience with a wide selection of modern clothing and footwear for all, quality cosmetics and toiletries, stylish accessories for the home, and more recently in South Africa, a growing range of financial services products. All less than one trusted name synonymous with quality and a consistently high level of service (Sharaf Group Website, 2009).
